


beneath the glow of starlight

by Shadowtravelingtitans



Series: Jearmin Week 2020 [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Jearmin Week 2020, M/M, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25255117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowtravelingtitans/pseuds/Shadowtravelingtitans
Summary: Armin grabbed his wrist and led him to the mess of pillows and blankets, drinks and snacks perched on a small table outside of the cozy spot. He made a fuss of making sure Jean was sitting in the proper direction before jogging towards the door and turning off the light.Jean was about to protest, when the lights shut and a glowing light from above his head caught his attention.OrJearmin Week 2020 Prompt #1 - Stargazing
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Jean Kirstein
Series: Jearmin Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1829650
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	beneath the glow of starlight

Jean watched Armin scribble something in his bullet journal, biting his lip in concentration. They were sitting in the dorm hall’s cafeteria, waiting for their other friends to show up for lunch. Jean secretly enjoyed having Armin to himself in moments like these. He had developed a crush on Armin after Marco had introduced them at a local Frat party last fall. The boy had been shy but when he started talking about his major, his eyes lit up and Jean had been captivated by him since.

He had spent the rest of Fall semester trying to get close to him. Now, halfway through Spring semester he was still very much casual friends who only hung out when others were present. Not that he minded being friends with Armin, he just kind of wished they were closer.

He looked closer at Armin’s journal, the stars and little crescent moon sticker giving him an idea.

“You know I don’t think I’ve ever been stargazing before.” Jean started off casually.

Armin looked up at Jean incredulously, eyebrows furrowed. 

“Really? Never?” He asked, disbelievingly. 

“Nope, not once. I grew up in Trost, remember? The sky was always so light polluted I never really got to see anything. Plus, my parents weren’t the camping type.”

“That’s kind of sad actually.” Armin responded.

“Yeah, well, it happens. I’m sure you’ve been, right? You’re from Shiganshina, that place always reminds me of the boonies.” He teased, flashing a grin, hoping Armin wouldn’t get offended.

Luckily, Armin was not Eren and recognized that Jean was not so much an asshole, as he was a dumbass. Instead, Armin flipped him off, a tiny smile gracing his lips.

“Yeah, we did. Eren, Mikasa, and I used to climb onto the roof of Eren’s house and just look up at the stars, map out constellations I’d read about in the library’s astrology books.”

“That sounds nice, peaceful.” Jean said wistfully. Usually, Marco and he would just sit on each other’s balconies and count how many different types of cars they’d see go by. Armin stared at him for a bit.

“I have stars in my room if you want to see them?” He offered. Jean blinked before looking Armin in the eye, with a raised eyebrow.

“Huh?”

“Yeah, come over later after your shift tonight and I’ll show them to you.” Armin explained calmly, leaving Jean to wonder what timeline he woke up in.

“Okay.” Jean was having a hard time wrapping his head around one, being invited over to his crush’s place so casually and two, how the hell could he have stars in his room?

His curiosity only grew throughout the day. Especially once they were inside Armin’s room, as he stared at the pillows and blankets laying down on the bedroom floor. Jean couldn’t help but blush at the multiple inappropriate scenarios flashing through his mind. There was just no way Armin could be that smooth of an operator, there was just no fuc-

“Jean? You okay?” Armin asked, looking over at his guest who was standing deathly still.

“Um, yeah, yeah. I’m fine, super awesome actually, just tired, ya know, work barista things, eh.” He sputtered out, trying to keep the heat down on his cheeks.

“That’s okay, we’ll be laying down for this so you can rest up. I won’t tire you out too much, don’t worry.” He joked, but Jean only felt like combusting.

Armin grabbed his wrist and led him to the mess of pillows and blankets, drinks and snacks perched on a small table outside of the cozy spot. He made a fuss of making sure Jean was sitting in the proper direction before jogging towards the door and turning off the light.

Jean was about to protest, when the lights shut and a glowing light from above his head caught his attention. Above his head, stuck to the ceiling of Armin’s bedroom were hundreds of glow in the dark stars, some spread about, others forming figures of some sort. Some were bigger while others were tiny, but Jean was taken aback by the fact that Armin even thought of doing something like this. He felt Armin settle in beside him.

“So, what do you think? Pretty cool, huh?” Armin asked once he was comfortably seated, child-like excitement in his voice seeping through.

“Armin, this is...the dorkiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He teased as he continued to stare at the ceiling.

“Hey!” He playfully smacked Jean in the arm, causing the other boy to laugh.

“It’s true! However, I will admit this is actually pretty awesome.” Jean wished he could see Armin’s face light up at the compliment.

“Well, I’m glad you like it.”

“Why do all this though?”

“When I started college, I wasn’t prepared to be homesick. I hated growing up in Shiganshina. The people there were all closed minded and I hated how limited everything we had was. I was fully prepared to embrace my new life and never think about my hometown again. But when I got here, the first couple of weeks I couldn’t sleep well and I just kept thinking that something was wrong with me. I missed home, but I didn’t know what I missed about it.”

“Connie suggested I get blackout curtains. It was something he did to transition better since he was so used to how dark it got at night in his hometown. He said the lights from the city here might be making it hard for me to adjust. That’s when I realized that, maybe I just missed the stars. They were such a huge part of my motivation to keep going and get out of town, that once I couldn’t see them I felt lost.”

“So I bought the blackout curtains and some glow in the dark stars and put everything up. And here we are. My starry night masterpiece.” He finished, waving his hand towards his ceiling. Jean felt himself fall in love even more.

“Can you tell me about them? The stars?” He watched Armin look over at him, his eyes looking for something before smiling shyly just like he did when they had first met back in Fall. 

“Sure. So that star over there in that corner where I’m pointing, is called Shaula or Lambda Scorpii and it’s the tail end, literally, of the constellation Scorpius. See where my finger is tracing, that curve goes up, and then there are five branches, like this. Those represent the head, the two big claws, and then it’s smaller legs on both sides. Scorpius is one of the constellations in the zodiac and as such-” Armin went on, continuing to point at different stars and moving through his makeshift sky. 

Jean listened attentively as best he could, despite not really understanding a majority of the terms Armin used. Still, hearing him excitedly explain the constellations and gush about this fun fact or that fun fact lulled Jean into a calm he hadn’t felt since he left the comfort of his home. The clarity of this moment stuns him. He’ll never forgive himself if he doesn’t at least try to hold on to this. With a deep breath he braced himself.

“You know, Armin, this is nice and all, but...” He reaches down to touch the back of Armin’s hand that lay between them. Armin stops talking and looks over to Jean, the stars highlighting his brows and cheeks in the dark.

“I’d love to see real stars with you one day.”

Jean watches Armin smile brightly, feels his hand turn upward and gently clasp his own. He doesn’t even mind the burning in his cheeks, because the giddiness at this boy’s smile has turned his heart into butter.

“Maybe you will.” He teases softly and Jean lets out a boyish laugh, squeezing Armin’s hand in his. 

If they fall asleep, under the stars with their hands clasped, well. That’s for them to know and cherish.


End file.
